Voices of Diversity

CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES. MURAL OF FACES, SHOWING ETHNIC DIVERSITY. UNION STATION SUBWAY.. Photography. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016.
quest.eb.com/search/300_1832386/1/300_1832386/cite. Accessed 4 Aug 2017.

Our culture and stories continue to evolve and expand, and our cultural production, from publishing to Hollywood, is beginning to catch up. A variety of artists develop diverse work in film, music, multimedia, and podcasting. Writers from many different backgrounds are creating romance novels, mystery, noir, speculative fiction, fantasy, comic books, literature, poetry, creative nonfiction, memoir, researched nonfiction, academic nonfiction, biography, graphic novels, and so much more. There are a great many chroniclers of the American experience. Look for them in unusual places and across every genre.
~Candice Kail, "#Ownvoices - Collection Development: Race, Diversity, and Society"

The mission and vision statement for the We Need Diverse Books campaign is "Putting more books featuring diverse characters into the hands of all children. A world in which all children can see themselves in the pages of a book." But we think it's also not too late for adults to find themselves in the pages of a book, too! Sharing our experiences is an important way to learn about, and to learn to accept, each other, despite our differences. A Google search for the word racism in the news comes back with 7 million results in .37 seconds - race, and affirming diversity, are definitely topics that continue to be debated at length, worldwide. We invite you to partake of some titles from our catalog showcasing diversity which you might have missed:

Non-Fiction

This Muslim American Life by Mustafa Bayoumi

Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul by Eddie S. Glaude, Jr.

Recovering the Sacred: The Power of Naming and Claiming by Winona LaDuke

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi

The Making of Asian America: A History by Erika Lee

The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race edited by Jesmyn Ward

Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness? What It Means To Be Black Now by Touré

The Turquoise Ledge by Leslie Marmon Silko

Trace: Memory, History, Race, and the American Landscape by Lauret E. Savoy

Rez Life: An Indian’s Journey Through Reservation Life by David Treuer

Policing the Black Man edited by Angela J. Davis


Fiction

The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez

The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf by Mohja Kahf

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis

We the Animals by Justin Torres

I Hotel by Karen Tei Yamashita [eAudiobook]

Sons and Other Flammable Objects by Porochista Khakpour

The Story Hour by Thrity Umrigar

The Turner House by Angela Flournoy

Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera

Grace by Natashia Deón

The Road Back to Sweetgrass by  Linda ­LeGarde Grover


As Candice Kail says in the article quoted above, "it's assumed that the classics will already be part of nearly all [library] collections because, whether acknowledged or not, cultural pluralism has always defined our society." Looking for an older book dealing with issues of diversity? Try our list of classics, all available in the library catalog.

We Need Diverse Books Campaign

From May 1 to May 3, a campaign titled We Need Diverse Books was launched on Twitter and Tumblr by activists and writers. The campaign focused on children's and young adult literature, and quickly went viral. For information about the campaign, visit the official Tumblr page. Today, I'm sharing some of my favorite young adult books that celebrate diversity.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

Bitter Melon by Cara Chow

With the encouragement of one of her teachers, a Chinese American high school senior asserts herself against her demanding, old-school mother and carves out an identity for herself in late 1980s San Francisco.

Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kirstin Cronn-Mills

Gabe has always identified as a boy, but he was born with a girl's body. With his new public access radio show gaining in popularity, Gabe struggles with romance, friendships, and parents--all while trying to come out as transgendered. An audition for a station in Minneapolis looks like his ticket to a better life in the big city. But his entire future is threatened when several violent guys find out Gabe, the popular DJ, is also Elizabeth from school.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

In the early 1990s, when gay teenager Cameron Post rebels against her conservative Montana ranch town and her family decides she needs to change her ways, she is sent to a gay conversion therapy center.

OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu

In an instant, Bea felt almost normal with Beck, and as if she could fall in love again, but things change when the psychotherapist who has been helping her deal with past romantic relationships puts her in a group with Beck--a group for teens with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Butter by Erin Jade Lange

Unable to control his binge eating, a morbidly obese teenager nicknamed Butter decides to make live webcast of his last meal as he attempts to eat himself to death.

Trafficked by Kim Purcell

A seventeen-year-old Moldovan girl whose parents have been killed is brought to the United States to work as a slave for a family in Los Angeles.

The Summer I Wasn't Me by Jessica Verdi

Ever since her mom found out she was in love with a girl, seventeen-year-old Lexi's afraid that what's left of her family is going to fall apart for good. New Horizons summer camp promises a new life for Lexi--she swears she can change. She can learn to like boys. But denying her feelings is harder than she thinks.

Even though it ended last Saturday, the campaign is still going strong. Check it out--and let us know in the comments what your favorite diverse books are!

Diversity in Books for Teens & Tweens

"Building a dynamic presence of YA books written by authors of color will do more than serve the needs of teens of color.  Books by Latino, Native, African, and Asian American authors provide all teens with the opportunity to build more universal perspectives.  Some teens will finally find stories that validate their own existence, while others will be able to build capacity for knowing, accepting, and treasuring people with a different life experience."
~"Wheaties Boxes, Rolling Stone Covers, and Library Shelves: Projected Preferment" by Edith Campbell, Voya October 2012 (vol. 35 # 4)


Let's face it, the teen years can be difficult and challenging, particularly for young adults who are different from the culture around them, and when parents try to help, often the teens just don't want to talk.  That's why we think that it's so important to offer materials for teens that cater to a variety of interests and describe different experiences - sometimes, if a teen won't talk, they just might read, if they can find an adequate reflection of their own lives.  Here are some titles to share with a teen outsider to "promote racial, gender, sexual orientation, and class diversity in children's literature":


The Choke Artist: Confessions of a Chronic Underachiever by David Yoo

Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty  by G. Neri

Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

How Tía Lola Saved the Summer by Julia Alvarez

The Battle of Jericho by Sharon M. Draper

Ask Me No Questions by Marina Budhos

A Million Shades of Gray by Cynthia Kadohata

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow by Faïza Guène

Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier

Bindi Babes by Narinder Dhami

Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

The Difference Between You and Me by Madeleine George


Useful links:

American Indians in Children's Literature

Native American Themes in Childrens & YA Books

Children's and YA Books with Asian Heritage Themes

Children's Book Council (CBC) Diversity blog

The Brown Bookshelf

Lee & Low Books - An independent childrens' book publisher focusing on diversity. Their mission is to meet the need for stories that all children can identify with and enjoy.  Look for some of their titles in our catalog!